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Thought Snakes
These custom creations of mine arose from wanting to use something like the Psionic Cascade disease but for standard magic users rather than Psionics. The original design idea thread can be found at the Wizards of the Coast Online Community. Cascade Flu and Psionic Cascade I modified to be the following to work on standard spellcasters: Thought Worms: (Disease, Injury, DC 16, 1 minute incubation). A multitude of miniscule parasitic worms burrow into the victim and find a nerve, then travel along it to reach the brain stem. They reach the brain stem at the end of the incubation period. After the incubation period, there is no ability or heath damage. The victim only feels a slight warmth on the back of their neck (A DC 21 Heal check is needed to determine that the patient is indeed diseased) which is caused by the parasites waiting in the brain stem for a spell to be cast. If the victim casts a spell, they must make a DC 16 Will save, or a Spell Cascade is triggered. Spell Cascade: At the start of the victims next turn, the victim is forced to cast a random 2 spells that they have memorized (or have the capacity to cast, in the case of Sorcerers or other spontaneous spellcasters). Treat this as a mind-affecting charm effect. If the spells require a verbal or somatic component, the victim is compelled to do the appropriate verbal or somatic action to the best of their ability. If the victim is not able to do a required component (bound or gagged) or the spell requires more than a full-round action, the spell is cast, but immediately fizzles. For spells that need a target, Touch spells automatically target the target of the Spell Cascade. For spells who target an individual or an area, roll : #Target the caster #Target closest ally #Target closest enemy #Target a random empty area For each spell cast in this manner, the caster takes damage equal to the level of the spell cast. The victim may now take their turn this round, though they may only take a move action (the Spell Cascade counts as a standard action). The next round, 3 spells are cast spontaneously at the start of the victim's round. The round after that, 4 spells. The Spell Cascade continues in this manner where the number goes up by one each round until all the spells memorized or available to the caster that day are expired, or the victim falls unconcious. Then I came up with the following creatures to administer the disease: These subterranean snakes very much enjoy the solitude their underground lairs provide. The live together in colonies or family groups in cave burrows. When the snakes detect a magic user has ventured underground, they use their impressive array of anti-magic abilities to return their burrow to a quiet, magic-free state. Thought Snakes are thinner than normal snakes, and a deep brown in color to blend with their rocky homes. Upon reaching maturity, the Thought Snake grows an additional head, giving additional bonuses. *Thought Snake, Juvenile *Thought Snake, Adult *Thought Snake Hypnotist Category:D20 NPC Groups